When We Were Once Young
by lost-yet-found
Summary: This is my very different way of how James and Sirius became friends. One which contains an odd meeting...R&R!
1. Meetings

**Disclaimer:** Ah, you again. Disclaimer who wishes to destroy the lives of Authors and Authoresses everywhere. With Lawyers and everything. But so I am not destroyed, I do not own Harry Potter characters. I wish I did, but I don't. Okay, so, send your lawyers away, Disclaimer!

All right! Now this, _this_ is what I am not particularly fond of. But, I hope you enjoy it, if you even read it. So, enjoy!

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**When We Were Once Young**

**By:** -lost-yet-found-

James Reed Potter's 10th birthday was the best one he had ever had. For two reasons really, one: because all his relatives were there and two: it would be the last one before he went to Hogwarts. (His birthday was September 3rd) And Hogwarts was what James had been waiting for all his life. Ever since his neighbor, Arthur Weasley, had turned eleven three years ago, he'd been anxious to see the magical place his neighbor always described.

"C'mon, Jamsie! Open the next one!" James grinned and ripped off the wrapping paper, revealing a whole set of books, ones written especially for the most famous sport in the wizarding world, Quidditch.

"You'll be needin' those! Gonna be on the house team, aren't ya, James?" James's cousin, Melanie, pointed out in her thick, Irish accent. She had just graduated that summer so she also knew all about Hogwarts. And was James's other way of getting information.

James's face lit up at the thought of being on Gryffindor house team, he'd heard millions of stories from both Arthur and Melanie on the subject. How they flew up way high and dodged bludgers and how many of them broke several bones and got severely hurt, James's dream was to be Gryffindor captain.

"All right, last present!" James's mother, Brina, called out merrily, joggling her camera so that she held it at eye level. Harold Potter promptly hurried over at the call of his wife, carrying a very flat package. James took it from his father and stared at the present quizzically. Slowly he unfolded the paper and drew out a shimmering cloak. James's eyes lit up, "No way, Dad! An invisibility cloak! Thanks!" The young boy cried, grabbing his father into a hug. The family around them laughed jovially and James let go, hugging his present tightly to his chest.

Brina Potter smiled and then said, "Now that that's over, while we're waiting for the cake--" Brina stopped at the looks she was receiving, "Oh shush all of you, I didn't burn nor destroy it this time, the delivery wizard is just behind schedule." She sighed in relief as they seemed to accept this explanation, "Now, while we're waiting for the cake-that-is-not-my-fault-this-time, let's play some Figure Quidditch!" Cheers erupted from James's younger cousins, and he himself, and they raced over to her as she began to take out the board.

--

Sirius Baron Black, heir to the Black Fortune and home, struggled through the millions of prickly hands someone must call bushes. He had escaped, just barely, from the drunkenness of his father and the scrutiny of his mother. But not unscarred. Blood leaked out the side of his mouth in which he had not even bothered to wipe away and his left arm dragged along the ground at his side. An argument and then some drunken beating had led to his decision of running away; he could not take it any longer and would rather die than suffer the expectations of his parents. Ever since his 10th birthday had passed three months ago, the elder Blacks had been looking to him expectantly for any signs of Slytherin. And they found it to their great glee. They were heavily proud of him as well, to Sirius's blatant disgust. He did not wish to please his parents, for he neither loved them nor cared at all for them, their hatred towards him taught young Sirius so.

But, ah, Regulus, so young, so naïve, so much like his parents. Sirius's younger brother was the total opposite of himself. The boy wished to please his mother and father and so he always looked for ways to get his older brother into trouble. Sirius hated him for it.

Reaching a spot where he found himself no longer struggling with long spindly twigs, Sirius lifted his head and began to look around cautiously. He was in the backyard of some rich family, though not as rich as his own, and the black haired boy took time to marvel at its beauty.

It was as if Sirius had crawled into a garden, one that sparkled with pure, untouched light. It was about two acres in length, including the small forest that halted the one-acre of open space. Sirius was unsure if the family even owned that part. The grass was a healthy green and sparkled with the dew of midmorning. A small pond sat at the right of the property, about halfway between the house and the forest, and it glittered in the sunlight. Flowers bloomed and colored a good part of the land, most of it near the forest or in the mid, from the pond to the fence at the left of the estate. Some sat in flowerboxes lining the patio and some hung from baskets. It looked perfect and Sirius didn't remember ever seeing something as wonderful as this in his entire life. Which was much expected, it wasn't as if his life was sunshine and daisies. How had he crawled into this wonderland?

Sirius snapped himself out of his awe and quickly began to crawl toward the towering hedges that grew along the fence. He could hide there until it was safe. Flattening his small frame against the ground, he inched his way underneath and to his surprise found enough space to sit in as he straightened up. Sirius situated himself into a comfortable position beneath the hedge where he realized a small nook, just large enough for a child such as himself, was hidden. His back lay against the pale, faded fence and he stared at the inside of the hedge boxed around him. The hidden place was cool and dark; it calmed the boy down slightly.

As he sat there, knees pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped tightly around them, he stared out at the perfect backyard through the small gaps between the leaves and wondered what kind of people lived there and if they would find him. But they wouldn't be able to; for all could be seen were his glimmering grey eyes.

--

James huffed and puffed as he sped around the house and into the backyard, pausing to catch his breath and look around. They had just been playing 'Dodge the Bludger'(it was just a bludger shaped ball of course) and his idiot of a cousin Kirk had thrown it over the house and hit the backside of the roof. Talk about a winning pitch.

James quickly spotted the object by one of the hedges and hurried over. Quickly kneeling down and scooping it up, he began to turn around but stopped when he heard a rustling sound. James blinked, standing stock-still and hoping dearly it wasn't anything. He'd always been told that you should investigate and if you don't know what it is, go to the closest adult you can find. Time to be brave, James told himself as he slowly turned around. Kneeling down once again, he looked more closely at the place he thought the rustling was coming from.

Lowering his head slowly to the gap in between the ground and hedge, he heard the rustling yet again but this time it was quieter. The boy saw nothing but darkness and quickly slid himself out of the position and stared at the hedge in suspicion. James was caught off guard when he suddenly glanced two grey eyes staring out at him, slightly narrowed and suspicious. James cried out and threw himself backwards, landing upon his back, dropping the ball. He hastily sat up and scooted back a bit, afraid to move and watched the bludger-like toy roll back underneath the hedge, where the eyes were still watching him.

--

It had been two hours since Sirius had found his little space and his body was tired of the position it was in. Carefully he rearranged himself onto his stomach with his legs lying against the fence and his chin upon his crossed arms. It wasn't long after this that a sudden hollow "smack" was heard and a ball rolled into view, heading right for him. Sirius eyes widened as he watched it roll at quite the speed and as it began to slow and then stop right in front of his face. Slowly, ever so slowly, Sirius reached out and snagged it before anyone could see, if anyone was even there. Blinking, Sirius examined the ball and recognized it to be one of those toy bludgers. His family owned their own set of Quidditch balls but Sirius had always wanted one of these, just because they were simple and didn't hurt as much as the real ones did when Regulus and he played together.

A few slow seconds later a boy about his age came hurtling into Sirius's vision and his eyes widened even more. The boy's hair, black as midnight and the messiest mop he'd ever seen, gleamed in the sunlight and he blinked chocolate brown eyes, covered by his round black glasses, around the yard. He wore bright red formal robes and underneath, a white long-sleeved shirt and black pants with tennis shoes that just didn't match. He was a pureblood. Had to be, just look at the house. Sirius knew it was wrong judge others just because they weren't fully wizard, or not at all, but it was a hateful habit he'd caught from all his relatives, especially his parents.

Sirius suddenly realized the boy was looking for the ball and reluctantly placed it in front of the hedge, where the boy would most likely see it. And as Sirius suspected, the pureblooded boy quickly spotted the ball and began to head over. Sirius Black froze and began to breathe quietly, praying to any deity that would listen, and hoping that the ruffle haired boy did not see him.

At first, Sirius believed he was safe and sighed in relief as the boy picked up the toy bludger and turned around, this sudden blast of air causing the leaves in front of him to rustle. The long, black haired boy gulped. Crud. The other boy seemed to freeze as well because his shoes, for that was all Sirius could see of the boy now that he was near the hedge, stopped in mid step. After a second, to Sirius's horror, the boy turned around and regained the position he had been in when retrieving the ball. Sirius jumped up quickly, the sudden panic clouding his thoughts, and flattened himself against the fence, curling up his legs as if he was in a midair crunch. The boy seemed to not have seen Sirius, the long haired boy was deeply relieved, and disappeared from the space. But it wasn't over yet, for the other boy suddenly raised his eyes to Sirius's own and they stared at each other.

Then, the messy haired boy cried out and fell back, dropping the ball in his surprise. Sirius and the boy watched it roll and give a stop in front of him (the eyes in James's case). Sirius took a moment to stare at the ball longingly; he really had wanted to keep it, before slowly rolling it back out to the boy. He watched as the pureblood hurried over to stop it and stare from the ball back to Sirius's grey eyes. He then seemed to make up his mind to what he was intending to do and rolled the ball back. Stuttering out afterwards, "N-No. You can have it." Jumping up, the messy haired boy scurried back into the house and Sirius watched with surprise, then sitting up, clutching the ball close to his chest.

--

That night, as James clambered into bed, he finally found he had time to mull over what had happened that day. Something, he didn't know what it was, was under the hedges in his backyard. But why and what was it doing there? James hadn't been so sure about telling his parents of what he'd found, whatever it was didn't seem to be all that bad, it had given his ball back to him after all. He suddenly wondered if it had food, if it ate, or if it was thirsty. He wondered if he could find a way to sneak down something to eat…

"James?" his mother's soft voice gently broke his thoughts, followed by a quiet knock so to further grab his attention. Brina's young son looked up at her, startled, as she elegantly drifted over to his bed. Her long, wavy black hair and her pale blue eyes enhanced the beauty of her slender figure and she carried herself like an angel. Whilst James shared few features with his mother(such as her nose and ears), he was more so a replica of his father, whose eyes were his chocolate and hair his mess.

"Oh, Mum." James stated absentmindedly, thoughts still on the creature he had discovered that very evening. "'Oh Mum," is that it? No hello or anything?" Brina Potter huffed good naturally, gently setting herself onto James's bed with heavenly grace. James smiled sheepishly and, as if to apologize, scooted up to her and raised his arms. Brina smiled and accepted her son's hug, noting that he still seemed to have something on his mind.

"Did you have fun today?" she asked as James lay back onto his pillow. "Yeah!" James answered with a nod, causing his mother to chuckle at his abrupt answer. "Well, I'm glad." Brina said, a kind smile on her face as she smoothed the sheet. She stood up and leaned over, brushing a kiss on James's forehead and turned to leave. James reached his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. Just as she opened the door and turned out the light, James murmured a question, "Hey, Mum?" "Hm?" She turned around and looked at her son curiously. "Do we have any leftover birthday cake?" Brina smiled, "Yes, we do. But none for you tonight. You can have the rest tomorrow." James nodded and watched her close the door. Then, after an hour of listening to his parents shuffle amongst the house and to their room. He then, as soon as he saw the light of the hallway flick off and heard the murmurings of his parents as they said goodnight, eased out of bed.

James quickly slipped on his socks and shoes and headed for the door, wearing only his white and blue striped pajamas. Opening the door as quietly as possible, James searched the hallway for any sign of his parents being awake, then promptly hurried down the stairs.

Padding over to the refrigerator, he began to search around for the cake. They owned one only because his father had been tricked into buying it when really he only wanted to borrow a pen. Harold Potter wasn't exactly the muggle expert.

Locating the white colored cake on the top shelf, he quickly pulled it out and after a bit of shuffling, found a knife and cut off a big chunk. Who knows how long ago the creature had eaten.

Wrapping the chunk of cake in a napkin, James walked to the door and quickly made his escape through it, suddenly realizing how dark it was. The ten-year-old dearly hoped nothing else but he and the creature were in his backyard.

--

Sirius was tired, hungry, thirsty, and uncomfortable. He'd been under the hedge for a rough eight hours and the bugs were really starting to annoy him. He sighed, and began to push through the leaves to get a better view of the yard. This had been his answer for his problem of not being able to see anything fully through the hedge without laying on his stomach. It was easier this way. When he first was able to dig through and actually succeed in seeing anything other than twigs, leaves and a bit of fuzzy background, Sirius found his first gaze to be upon a beautiful woman, the boy's mum he supposed. The beauty had been watering the flowers, using her wand of course, and hadn't remained out there long.

But now, Sirius was looking up at the now dark window that had been lit just a few minutes ago, either the boy's or the woman's room he was not sure of but it was his only way of knowing he was still in civilization.

Sirius hated it but he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit homesick, it was mostly for his owl and his room, two of which had been his greatest companions when times got rough. He hoped Lillian, his aforementioned Northern Hawk Owl, would be all right and could escape if one of his family members tried to get a hold of her.

A sound that very much sounded like shuffling broke through his musings and he suddenly let go of the leaves, withdrawing against the fence and listening. The footsteps, he recognized, were coming closer and he prepared himself for the worst, no wand to protect him. And then, to his great surprise, something was stuffed underneath the hedge, right at his feet.

Sirius eyed it curiously, and with the cautiousness of a cat, slowly unwrapped the package. Inside, with the helpful light of one of the streetlights near the fence, he saw it to be cake. The black haired boy was surprised and looked up, moving the branches and leaves only enough for his eyes to be seen.

It was the boy from earlier and he was standing a few inches away, eyeing the hedge nervously and fidgeting. Suddenly, seeing Sirius's grey eyes, the boy jumped and then whispered, "Th-There, it's food. You can eat it if you're hungry," the boy said and then added quickly, "but you don't have to if you don't want to." Sirius's eyes plainly showed gratitude as he let go of the branches and began to hungrily eat the cake. "Oh," the boy whispered before turning and leaving, "My name's James."

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There. There it is, in all it's crappy glory. I have already finished the second chapter and am finishing the third. I will post the second one up if you like this fic enough!

EDIT: Organized chapter.


	2. When Friendships Are Truly Made

**Disclaimer:** See, no ownership? None. Whatsoever. Okay, I'm going to stop here. No more disclaimers after this. I don't own anything you recognize down there, by the way. Just trying to keep that clear.

Hm, well, it seems like people actually enjoy this story! I am awed! Well, here it is, second chapter. I already had this typed, by the way, so I just had to edit it a bit. Enjoy!

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The next week went by quickly, with James constantly sneaking food and water-and sometimes even toys-to the mysterious creature underneath the hedge whenever he got the chance, and Sirius was grateful for it.

But it was getting harder and harder for young James to sneak _anything_ to Sirius for his parents seemed to be noticing the missing, ah, items from the fridge. James knew it would not be long before his mother and father would start questioning him. Another way was needed but James was running out of options. He really needed to tell someone else about this, but who, James did not know. The boy did not trust anyone much older than himself; they were too mature and would most likely go to an adult, and this left him at a dead end.

James sighed and scuffed his shoe against the ground, wondering about this predicament as he shuffled through the gate that led to the backyard. He wasn't really thinking of where he was going, too caught up in his own worried thoughts, and didn't notice the piercing grey eyes, of which he had become so accustomed to lately, were watching him.

--

Sirius had grown a liking for this boy, as if they were somewhat distant friends, and he didn't like to see the boy so miserable. After all, he dearly owed this boy much for supporting him whilst he hid. Sirius wondered for a moment if James was worrying about him, but he quickly discarded it. Why would James worry about him?

Sirius was brought back out of his thoughts as the boy plopped on the ground five feet away from his hedge and Sirius was suddenly hit with an urge to go over and smack the miserable expression off his face.

James sighed, looked up at the hedge, and murmured, "Hey, Creature, sorry to bother you. Just came back here to think, is all." Then, as an after thought, "Do you have a name?"

Sirius blinked, watching the boy cautiously. Could he…could he really come out and show the boy who he was? Was it safe? Well…he did owe the boy….

Sirius nodded, causing the leaves to shudder and James to stare. "Well, then, what is it?"

Cautiously, ever so cautiously, Sirius began to slide himself out from under the hedge, feet first. James stared, startled, and watched as a boy slunk into his vision.

Sitting up, the boy brushed out various twigs that held fast to his long, tangled black hair and then turned to stare at James with less piercing grey eyes. The boy wore dark grey robes, ones that looked worse-for-wear, and black boots. His face was drawn and slightly pale though it held resolution and a somewhat guarded expression.

"Sirius," he suddenly croaked, "Sirius Black."

Maybe it was the wind, or the idea of a stranger having been living in his yard for the last week, that caused shivers down his back and made his neck hair stand-on-end. He now preferred the idea of it being something less intellectual and more hairy with many legs.

"Wh-what?" James stuttered out, suddenly noticing the boy was still staring at him.

"You asked for my name. It's Sirius Black." Oh…yeah…he did ask didn't he? Well, he hadn't expected an actual answer!

"Oh, uh, y-yeah. James Potter." James answered, still caught up in his shock. Sirius snorted and lifted himself from his position upon his knees, and began to stretch. Moaning and wincing at the slight pain and the uncomfortable feeling, he began to trudge over to the other boy. James was startled. Wait, _what_ was he doing? Sirius Black dropped onto the ground next to him and eyed the boy warily.

James, uncomfortable under Sirius's scrutiny, squirmed and refused to look him in the eye. After a minute or so, Sirius sat back, propping himself with his arms stretched out behind him, and stared up at the soft grey sky. James blinked and followed his gaze, wondering what was so interesting, and found himself looking intently upon a small cluster of much darker clouds that were drifting lazily above them.

"S'going to rain." James heard Sirius mutter and noticed how deep it was and how raspy, as if he hadn't, and it was probably so, used his voice in ages.

James nodded curtly as he turned his attention back to the long, black haired boy. "What?" Sirius muttered, rolling his head and eyes toward James. He was taken aback by the other boy's calm manner, as if this was a normal, everyday thing. "Why were you under my family's hedge?" James asked softly, slowly looking down at the grass. Sirius seemed to think this over before answering much more softly than James had before, "Hiding." "From what?" The messy haired boy asked, slightly cocking his head to the side and raising an eyebrow curiously. There was a long pause and James wasn't sure if Sirius was even going to answer it, then, "From my parents." James looked back to Sirius in surprise, for they both had turned their attention to the clouds.

This boy had run away from home? But why? And where did he live and why run here? Who was he really? All these questions bounced to-and-fro within James's head but he held back many, but a few leaked out. "Why did you run away? Why come here? Why-" James's questions muffled away as Sirius's hand covered his mouth. The other boy smirked and slowly let his hand down, watching as James frowned and glared. Sirius snickered.

A rumble sounded from above and both boys looked up as the clouds shifted and more turned darkish. "'Knew it was going to rain." Sirius said with a smirk, flopping into a resting position upon the ground. James frowned even deeper and whispered, "You can't stay in my backyard forever." Sirius chuckled without even looking at the other boy, "I know." "Then leave." James knew he was being rude but this boy, he didn't like his smug attitude at all. But, then again, James had not an inkling that this was Sirius being very, _very_ friendly.

"'Got nowhere else to go." Sirius answered wryly. James sighed and sat up, glaring at Sirius with all he could muster, which wasn't much compared to what Sirius could do, "I know somewhere you could stay." Sirius opened one eye; he had closed them, and asked, "Where?" "At the end of town, my friends and me call it The Hovel." James answered as he played with a piece of grass. "I see…then let's go." Sirius shot up so quickly it startled James into wrenching the grass out of the ground.

"H-Hey, we can't just go _now_. We'll go in an hour, okay? Mum'll be doing paperwork then." James stammered out, surprised by the boy's sudden enthusiasm. "Fine." Sirius answered flatly. The two were quiet for a few minutes before a sudden booming thunder shattered the silence. Wind picked up around them and after a few seconds, the rain came.

Pouring buckets and buckets, Sirius and James were already almost soaked through as they jumped to their feet. "In an hour!" James cried as he hurried toward the patio. Sirius nodded and scurried to the hedge. When James reached the protection of the cement roof above, James watched the soaking Sirius slide under the hedge and out of sight. James felt bad for him, sorta. He then turned and headed inside, bracing himself for the scolding he was to get as the water dripped slowly off him.

--

Sirius had never felt so wet in his life. Nothing compared to this, not even the icy water he'd been pushed into while on a boating trip with his family. Regulus had shoved him off whilst their parents had been talking, complaining really, to a wizard about the crowded docks. The water was not meant to be swam in, for a giant squid inhabited it, and so when the three elder wizards heard the splash all of them became extremely worried and upset. His parents mostly because they'd lose an heir. Sirius had gotten a small beating afterwards and a punishment that lasted three months; the worst of it all was Regulus's laughing face as their parents scolded him.

No, this water was numbing, sharp as millions of needles, and persistent as heck to bring about hypothermia. But Sirius could fight it off no matter what. The hour seemed a longer wait than expected, days, months, years is how long the "hour" felt. Where was that boy? He didn't despise James, no, on the contrary, he found him interesting but not exactly a possible friend. No, no one could befriend him. He made sure of it.

Sirius wrapped his somewhat tattered, and muddy, robes tighter and watched and felt the storm around him.

--

James stared at the fire as it sparked and flickered playfully, almost as if it were mocking him. It was five minutes passed the intended hour and James was now trying to think. Should he really help the strange boy? Would it be safe? Well, that's a question. No, no it wouldn't be. But James's conscience was too overpowering and he knew he had to help. But another predicament rose into his mind. Okay, fine, his mother was doing paperwork, easier way to sneak out. Problem, she'd hear and know before he even opened the door. That's what James hated about mothers, they always knew everything, especially his.

Jumping off the couch and hurrying to the window next to the backdoor, James stared gloomily at the hedge and sighed. Slowly he sidled over and stood in front of the door, examining it up and down before reaching out his hand. He grasped the knob and turned it, desperately listening for any sound of his mother's being, and opened the door. Thunder crashed unexpectedly and the wind howled. James knew _this_ would have caught his mother's attention. So instead of staying around to face his inevitable doom, he slipped out the door and shut it softly. James tightened his cloak, turned toward the hedge, and began heading over.

--

Sirius was getting overwhelmingly tired. He, yet again, found himself wondering where James was. Maybe he'd chickened out or wasn't coming at all? The idea of another promise being broken caused Sirius's stomach to create blocks of ice and chill the rest of his body. His whole life had been filled with broken promises and lost friendships. Nobody wanted to be friends with the heir of one of the darkest wizarding families alive. Nobody.

Sirius shivered, one that wracked his body and nearly threw him off balance. Somewhere in the sky lightning crackled and he felt the heart twisting doubt and desertion. How had he thought that maybe…just maybe…he could have someone to count on…even if they couldn't truly be his friend? How could he have?

"Hey! Sirius!" The call was almost drowned in the crack of another blast of thunder but Sirius heard it. He shot up, ramming his head against the hedge. Sirius scowled and rubbed his head before turning to where he thought it may be coming from. "James?" Sirius croaked hesitantly, hoping he wasn't hearing things. "What are you waiting for? I'm getting soaked out here!" Yeah, it was him. As quickly as he could, Sirius slid out of the hedge and into the slightly worse rain, the leaves above him had shielded somewhat, and he found himself wetter than he was prior, if that was a possibility.

James hurried over and, pulling out the invisibility cloak he had stashed in his jean pocket, threw it over them. Sirius was startled at first, then realized what it was; his father and brother owned one. "C'mon." He heard James whisper and they began to hastily make their way out of the yard and down the street.

It seemed even worse out here, the street flowed with water too strong for the gutters to handle, and the streetlamps were almost impossible to see through the wind. Sirius truly hoped James wasn't leading them to their deaths.

After what seemed like hours of constantly fighting with the storm, James steered them right and into an alley. It was dirty and very open spaced, even in areas where rats or cats would usually be residing, but the storm had either washed them away or scared them off.

"How far is it?" Sirius screamed over the blasting noise of the wind. "Not much further!" James bellowed back and began to yank Sirius along at an ever faster pace. Sirius tried to keep himself from slipping in the water or tripping over some unseen object but it was nearly impossible and Sirius wondered how James could skim over it as agilely as he was.

They turned again and then again, having to jump over a few stranded boxes and other such various items washed into the closed space. Sirius looked around, not recognizing his surroundings at all, and started when he realized they were heading toward a large fence, barely holding onto the stonewalls as the wind struggled to push it away.

"JAMES?" Sirius screamed incredulously. "We have to climb over the fence!" James answered, his words nearly ripped away by the wind, but Sirius caught it. How…how would they make it over without being thrown off? Sirius was starting to feel very edgy about this.

They halted in front of the fence and James began looking around and then, obviously not finding what he was supposed to, his face suddenly grew slightly paler and nervous. Finally, I thought for a second there that this kid was fearless.

"The wind must have knocked away the barrels! We're going to have to ram through!" What? Oh heck no…

"One!"

No, hold on…they weren't really going to do this…were they?

"Two!"

No, no, no. They wouldn't make it.

"THREE!"

Ah…no choice then…

They took off like a rocket, throwing all their force into it. At first, it didn't feel like the fence had budged at all and Sirius, for an instance, seriously thought that the fence was stronger than they thought. But, to both boys great relief, it crashed to the ground, and with it followed a raging flood. Both of them screamed as they felt the invisibility cloak be torn off and they soon followed it.

Sirius, who had learned to swim very well due to him being forced by his parents, broke the surface just to be dragged down again. He fought desperately with the raging currents, spots dancing across his eyes as his lungs screamed for air. Yet again he tried to break the surface and this time he stayed up.

Swerving his head around, he searched the waters for James but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Sirius's eyes widened at this and while he tried to fight down the panic welling up in the pit of his stomach, he began to call out the other boy's name but to no avail, the wind was just too loud. Choosing to look instead, Sirius took a deep breath and dived under.

Slowly opening his eyes, Sirius Black searched the waters for any sign of the messy haired boy who'd been more of friend than he'd ever had.

Swimming farther from the fence, or rather, pushed from the fence, he continued to scour while he dodged the debris shooting at him on all angles. And when he thought all hope was lost, a sudden flash of black broke through the clear of the water around him.

What was left of Sirius's energy was spent as he lurched toward the boy and grabbed his arms, pulling him up to the surface. Looking down at James for a split second he noted that his glasses were still, amazingly, clinging to the boy's nose. But he wasn't conscious, or breathing. Fear tore at Sirius's heart as he looked wildly around for anything he could grab onto, anything near for he found no strength to swim.

Keeping James's head above the water, Sirius lashed out his hand and waited for anything to catch hold. Something did. The long haired boy quickly curled his hand around it and felt a lurch as his body was halted against the pulling of the current. Finding what little strength he had, Sirius pulled them atop the, he now realized, ladder and began to climb. It was a slow, agonizing process. One, James's dead weight was even heavier than normal due to the water dragging him down; two, Sirius himself was soaked; and three, he was numb and tired with little to no strength left in him.

As soon as they both reached the top, Sirius dropped James and quickly kneeled by him, checking for a pulse. There was one, but it was weak. Rapidly, but gently, he began to press against James's chest, being too young to take CPR, and after the third push, James spluttered to life. The boy lurched up, confused and disoriented, and had to be gently pushed back down. "Sirius?" was James's hoarse whisper as his blurry eyes swept over him. Sirius nodded.

"James," Sirius whispered urgently, "where is The Hovel?" James, closing his eyes, whispered, "I don't know where we are…but…where the fence was…you turn left and go behind a big bunch of trees," he coughed here, "you'll see it, looks like a big tree house." Sirius nodded and lay beside his friend; trying to give what little warmth he could until morning. And as they lay there, both fast asleep, the wind howled mercilessly all through the night.

* * *

Well…hm…there it is! Some action! OMG. Hah, yes, well. If you guys still like it, I'm willing to put up the third, but only if I get at least one review! XD Hah, I am so demanding.

EDIT: Organized Chapter.


	3. Questioning Appearances

All right, It seems I got A LOT OF HITS but not reviews…so I'm just gonna put of chapter 3 anyway. I proud of this one and hope that I'll get a review for this one!

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"HEY! I THINK SOMEONE'S UP THERE!" The morning of the flood was met with bright sunlight and clear blue skies, lighting the terrible wreckage of a few less than lucky houses, fallen trees, and debris piled upon the streets, blocking any way of modern transportation. Rescue teams of both muggle and wizard tentatively avoided the wreckage around them and set forth to find anyone who might've been swept away by the flood. And just when many of them had lost hope, one muggle rescuer spotted two young boys upon the roof of an old building.

Sirius, startled out of his peaceful sleep, groaned and shook his head, staring around at his surroundings and realizing what was going on. Sirius quickly stood up and ran toward the opposite of the call, and began to climb down. Praying he wouldn't fall, Sirius carefully used his right foot to look for window ledges or any crevices if none of the latter. He froze as he heard the men scuffle upon the roof and one murmur, "I swear I saw two of 'em…" "Well, don't worry about that now, this one needs help. Should we bring 'em down to the station?" "No," one said, obviously a wizard rescuer and could tell that James was one, "I'll take him to ours. Go on." "Alright there, Phillip." Sirius sighed in relief and continued his journey downward, trying not to look, for if he did, fear would stop him in his tracks and that was especially not what Sirius's needed right now.

Feeling the firm, hard ground below, Sirius let go of the ledge he was holding onto and whirled around to see where he was. But of course, he didn't know. Bits and pieces of the fence lay ahead and he realized how far away he was from his destination, this would take a while.

Trudging along quietly and avoiding anything that would make racket-he didn't want to alert the rescuers to his presence-he looked between the gaps of the buildings in hope to find the exact place the fence had once been, but he soon realized how far away he actually was.

Sirius soon decided that where the fence was would be more likely at one of the very last gaps. But, just when he was about to start walking and wait until he found the end of the gaps, something shiny caught his eye. At first Sirius thought it was just a piece of metal or some trinket washed away from its previous location, but when he looked again, he realized it was the tattered remains of James's invisibility cloak.

Hurrying over, Sirius scooped it up and surveyed the damage. Half of it was gone, probably torn off when it got hung on something and pulled away, as it was really of no use anymore. Gently packing it into his damp pocket, Sirius began to continue on his way to The Hovel.

--

After fifteen minutes of tireless walking, Sirius found himself in a slightly washed-out looking neighborhood. He ignored the dull appearance and turned left as James had instructed. And, as he traveled on a bit, came upon a cluster of trees, bunched together as if they were foliage. Sirius climbed his way through, grasping that it was a bit denser than he thought, and soon came upon a small, weather-beaten trail. Walking it was easy, much less bumpy than he intended it to be, and made his way into a clearing.

And there it was, sitting atop a gigantic tree, a large tree house, The Hovel. A slender wooden ladder draped down the tree and was inches from touching the ground. Sirius cringed at the idea of climbing up _that_, but as soon as he scrambled upon the ladder, the ladder rungs began to move beneath him, like that of an escalator at a muggle mall. It was amazing to watch the ground disappear beneath him and all shrubbery become tiny dots.

As he reached the top, the rungs slowed to a stop and he scurried off. Looking around warily, he opened the door and walked into a cozy living room. The couches were brick red, both were loveseats, and the one chair was a soft gold. A fire crackled in the fireplace in front and a small kitchen huddled off to the side. Many brown cabinets scattered across the wall of the kitchen, and the white tile counter and a fridge took up the rest. Oh, poor, poor Mr. Potter-tricked out of another pen again. Bugger.

The walls of The Hovel were decorated with Gryffindor objects, some Quidditch things, others symbols. Sirius hadn't felt this warm in a good long time.

Flopping onto the couch and staring at the fire sleepily, he pulled out the half-destroyed invisibility cloak and looked around. Was there a possibility he could fix it…? He then set to work on finding out how.

--

James felt warm and comfy, and he really didn't want to wake up. The layers of sleep were disappearing now that his conscious recognized all of this. Darn. James fought to stay asleep as the haze of warm darkness slipped from his grasp and, frustrated, rolled on his side, eyes still shut tight. Wait. Bed. James's eyes snapped open and everything came back to him. Sirius. Flood. His eyes widened and he looked around. Did Sirius…was he okay?

"Mum?" James called out weakly, staring at his empty room. He was heard automatically, it seemed, for his mother came bursting in. As soon as she saw him, her long beautiful hair wild but in an elegant way, she threw herself on him. James, surprised, was happy to be hugged but slightly pushed away as he looked up into his mother's tear streaked face. "Mum?" James asked again. "Oh, honey, you're awake. I was really…I really thought…" she heaved into body wracking sobs and just held him tighter. "Mum…did they find anybody else with me?" James asked. Brina Potter shook her head but didn't answer as she continued to cry on James's shoulder. The boy heaved a sigh of relief. Sirius had made it to The Hovel then. As soon as he was allowed out he would go and see if he was okay. And…to thank him for saving his life…

The door creaked open behind them and James looked up as his mother began to dry her tears. Harold Potter, looking soaked and tired, slouched into the room carrying a newspaper, The Daily Prophet it seemed.

"Dad?"

Harold flopped onto James's wooden desk chair and sighed, placing his chin on his fist before smiling at James, "I'm glad you're awake, you gave us quite a scare. I'd scold you, but, I don't think I have the energy." He'd been out in the flooded streets, trudging through all its cold and murkiness, helping out with the search teams. So far it seems the damage was minimum. It was a relief to all. Harold Potter sighed again, removing his chin from his fist and slowly turning to stare at the front page.

"Well, they haven't found the Black's son yet."

James's mother nodded, sliding off the bed and joining her husband, leaning over to stare at the picture of a glaring Sirius. "It's a shame really, I heard he ran away. Isn't he the one that's going to inherit the Black Fortune?" "Yeah, name's Sirius Black. Odd name, that. But I suppose only the Blacks would. I think he's named after an ancestor."

James had frozen at the mentioning of the Blacks, he'd heard of the family. They were purebloods, like the Potters, but were a darker kind; known to be on all of the dark wizard's sides if ever one was to show up. It was their family history. And Sirius. Sirius's last name was Black. The heir of the Black fortune. Why hadn't he thought of that before? I mean, Sirius had told him straight out his first and last name. So why hadn't he…?

"Do you think they'll find him?" Brina's voice gently cut through James's thoughts and he became intent upon the conversation his parents were having. "Probably not. But I understand why the boy ran away, the family isn't exactly known for its kindness towards its family members."

James sighed and looked down. That's what Sirius had meant when he'd told him he was running away from his parents. They were awful people. James had only seen them once but their sharp faces and hate filled gazes was all he needed to see.

James tightened his grip on the bed sheets and stared at them from all angles, wondering why they were bothering him so much. It was as if they were reminding him of something. But what…?

The messy haired boy shot up, startling his mother and father. "My invisibility cloak!" James cried, realizing it wasn't with them. He must have lost it in the storm. James's heart sunk like a large rock, plummeting into the ocean, slowly and annoyingly steady. That invisibility cloak had been one of the best presents he'd ever had, and then he'd gone and lost it.

"Shh. It's all right, honey. We'll get you one to replace it next year." Brina comforted, walking over to her young son and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah. It won't take me long to get another. I'll just explain to Moody what happened and I'm sure he'll lend me another. He's got plenty after all."

James looked up, "Mad-Eye Moody?" "Yeah, him. But don't call him 'Mad-Eye', it's making fun." Mad-Eye Moody, or actually, Alastor Moody, was Harold Potter's commander, as they were both Aurors. Even though Moody was growing older, he could still fight just as well and his mind was as sharp as ever. James had always hoped someday that Mad-Eye could be his own commander, as he also wanted to be like his father in that respect of career.

"Well, now, that's enough of Mr. Moody. You should be in bed," she held up her hand as James whined, "But I _am_!" and amended, "in bed _and asleep_." James grumbled under his breath but complied, flopping back unto his pillow and pulling the covers up to his chin. Brina smiled, leaning over and planting a kiss on his cheek. James rolled over onto his side, obviously trying to hide his pout, and listened to his mother chuckle then head out the door, his father in tow, albeit slower. As the door shut and the lights flickered off, James stared up at the window across the room.

Light was shining through the glass, softly blasting light back at itself as it created a glare upon the smooth window. James distinctly heard the cries of men as they picked through the debris lain upon the ground as mere memories of what the objects may or may not have been.

James found himself wondering how Sirius was doing and if he was well, but told himself not to worry as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

--

James's worries were good intentioned and very necessary, for Sirius was not exactly well nor was he doing particularly fine. James's friend found himself upon the grubby, dirt speckled cobblestone street, on his belly, covered in mud and bruises, with a very stomach-large cat snuggled upon his back. He'd been in, and thrown out of, every shop he could think of that would sell such rare things as Demiguise Hair. He'd been able snitch a needle but that was all. He didn't even need that much fur, only enough to fix half of the cloak.

Shifting as best he could in his position, Sirius tried yet again to shoo the cat off his back but it refused to move from its spot. The cat just opened one golden amber eye lazily before closing it again. Sirius grumbled something like, "stupid cat," before he was startled as two pairs of footsteps came into his hearing.

He could see no one at first, only hearing the echoes of their footfalls against the brick walls. The town in which The Hovel resided was almost like a ghost town in every other way, so noise was heard like a cannon. You hardly ever saw people, muggle or wizard, roaming about. But time by time he did see a few dark looking wizards come in and out of the shops every once and a while.

"Where are we going, father?" came the voice of someone Sirius recognized, though he could not exactly recall whose. "Do not ask questions. I don't want anyone to suspect anything." That was _another_ voice he incredibly recognized. But who…?

Then, they came into view. It was a tall man and a boy, barely two years younger than Sirius. The man had long, spindly black hair that laid limply on his shoulders and piercing black eyes. He was well groomed and handsome, wearing a long black cloak with a clasp that was in the shape of a silver serpent that was leering ruby-made eyes.

The boy beside the man was quite the opposite of his father's domineering appearance. His hair was more so dark brown, cut short as all boys usually do, and his eyes were a soft blue-grey, though they held a coldness that he and his father seemed to share.

Sirius shot up, ignoring, at first, the yowl that escaped the cat as it slid off his back and onto the hard ground. Sirius froze, grappling for the cat and covering his hand over the cat's face. It struggled before slowly calming down, as if sensing the urgency of the situation.

Outside of the alley, for that was where Sirius was currently, the man and the boy ceased their talking and froze. The boy fidgeted whilst the man flickered his cold eyes everywhere, like a hawk searching for lost prey. After a minute or so of bated silence, the man turned to the boy and said briskly, "Let's go, Regulus." The boy nodded, "Yes, father." And they hurried out of Sirius's sight towards a small, wilting building five shops away.

Sirius sighed in relief and slowly released the cat from his grip upon its slender, black and ginger-almost-orange head. He blinked and looked at the cat, noticing that the ginger was speckled across the cat's fur in medium sized clumps, and then deep into its eyes, the cat staring back, grey against amber.

"I suppose you're going to follow me anyway?" Sirius asked after the long silence. As if to answer, the cat swished its tail and began to make its way out of the alley and down the street in the direction Sirius's father, Carrick Black, and younger brother, Regulus, had went.

Sirius, quickly pushing himself to his knees, dusted himself off, contemplating seriously. Why would his father and brother be here? Of all places? He knew they couldn't possibly be looking for him, could they? I mean, he thought they would search for a week or two, and then give the inheritance to Regulus if he were not found. So, what could it be then? Well, he was sure to find out, Sirius ended his thoughts with a brisk nod before jumping to his feet and hurrying after the cat.

--

Brookes and Creak was a different store. The name for one thing, for it made no sense, and the other was that it held more dark magic items than any shop found in Knockturn Alley alone yet no one had said anything about it. The perfect place to find _exactly_ what Carrick Black was looking for, the _perfect_ place.

A screech erupted through the quiet that held the dismal store in its clutches as the two Blacks shuffled in. Regulus eyed his surroundings warily. The counters and desks that held the items were old and rotting, some of the desks were even on the verge of toppling onto their sides. The room was musky and the air filled with ancient dust, holding with it dark secrets of the past. Bottles upon bottles of assortments lined the desks and counters, filled with eyes, creatures, and things that Regulus wasn't willing to even really _know_ what they were.

"Ah, Mr. Black. It's good to see you." The creaky voice caused Regulus to jump slightly, though he was stilled by his father's sharp hand.

The middle-aged man's face was drawn and his eyes sparkled with impish light. As he stood behind the counter, the man surveyed young Regulus and he gulped, cowering away from the man's intense gaze.

"And you, Corrin." Carrick Black answered with a nod and a steeled gaze as he, with Regulus trailing hesitantly along, made his way up to the counter.

--

Sirius had watched his father and brother have a quick conversation in front of the shop, though it was mostly one-way for his father did most of the talking, and then headed into the alley alongside the store. The black and ginger cat was already in there, sitting upon a pile of three large crates. It was cleaning its paw and not paying attention to the boy as he clambered up next to it.

Sirius found himself staring into a fully open window at a store that seemed almost deserted for dust caked everything. Deciding it was best to just slide into it before the absent owner returned, he lay on his back and began to slowly push himself inward.

The cat watched him smugly, as if it were finding his less gracefulness amusing, and followed as it heard Sirius smack to the ground, landing elegantly on his head.

Sirius flinched and looked around, making sure no one heard him, before gently pushing the cat off his head and scurrying behind one of the closest desks to ensure he was not seen. The cat followed and sat straight up beside him just as the door opened, followed by a screech that made Sirius flinch, and his father and brother walked in.

He smiled grimly as he saw how nervous his younger brother was and as he peeked around the desk, emulated by the cat beside him, watched as his father and the shopkeeper, who had appeared out of nowhere, exchange words.

As soon as his father reached the desk, Sirius began to desperately try and hear the conversation.

--

"Ah, so, you wish for a certain, ah, item?" Carrick Black nodded; disgusted by the way the man's voice creaked. "My Lord wishes that I collect it, for it is slightly personal and he wishes for me to give it to a friend of mine." The man, Corrin, nodded eagerly, "And what is it that you need, Mr. Black?" "A book, a journal of the sorts, my Lord assures me that it is here." Corrin smiled, "Ah, yes…I know of what you speak…Then, I will return with it, it will not take long." Carrick just nodded and watched the man turn his worthless body around and head into the back of his dingy shop. Pitiful.

During this, Regulus had wandered off, studying the continents each bottle held. It was all gruesomely fascinating to the eight-year-old. He was just reaching the last bottle-covered desk when he heard an odd sort of mewing noise. Regulus stopped, confused and startled, and began to walk toward the aisle he believed it came from. A quiet, rapid shuffling was heard right before he turned around the desk but as he walked, Regulus saw nothing. Presuming it was nothing more than rats, he shrugged and made his way back to his father, who was stuffing something in his cloak and nodding to the now returned shopkeeper.

--

Sirius had been too busy trying to hear everything the shopkeeper and his father were saying to even _notice_ his brother snooping around the shop. His thoughts were too busy confusing him with the thousands of questions that were popping up. A journal…? Why would his father, an esteemed man of high character and prestige, well, as the man thought of himself, be buying a _journal_? And who was his father's supposed "lord?" He'd heard that there had been a few attacks made on the ministry, be it they were seldom and few, and his father seemed to know a lot more about these attacks than the wizarding world themselves.

A soft mew shook Sirius from his contemplations and he jumped, staring down at the cat before looking up. There was his brother, heading toward them, and it seemed like he'd heard.

As quickly as possible, Sirius grabbed the cat, hand over its face once again, and began to scoot backwards and around the desk, making his way to the one beside it, noting this desk was closer to the wall. Sliding himself into the crevice between the wall and the desk, Sirius sat the cat onto his knees, for the only way to fit was to pull them to his chest, keeping his hand on the cat's face, and watched as Regulus shrugged and made his way back to Carrick Black.

Sirius didn't move an inch until he heard the two Blacks leave, followed by a shrill scream that sounded like it belonged to a woman. Sighing in relief, Sirius let go of the cat's muzzle and it yowled softly in protest.

He sidled out quietly but not strategically enough for he bumped his head against the desk and had to quickly catch the bottle that fell from atop it. Rubbing his head, Sirius stared at the bottle he held with his other hand. In it were two spools, holding delicate string that was almost see-through. Sirius's eyes widened when he realized what the string was, Demiguise Hair.

Gently sliding the cat from his lap, Sirius slunk back toward the window, eyes constantly glancing to the counter, where the shopkeeper was once again no longer there, and climbed his way back out of the window and onto the crates outside. It was slightly darker; the clock in the last shop he'd been kicked out of had read 4:00. Sirius suspected he hadn't been in there long but it got dark in the ghost of a town, called Spectre by the way, quicker than anywhere else.

The cat hopped up next to him and he looked down at it, smiling slightly and ruffling its fur. The cat did not back away but it did slightly duck away from his hand.

Jumping down from the crates, Sirius catapulted toward The Hovel, the cat trailing him at quite the fast pace, and he decided that what had happened in there was important. Maybe not at this particular moment, but someday in the future, whatever his father had taken, would be very important.

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There's chapter three! If you can guess what I mean by important and the journal, I'll give you a batch of cookies and fifty points. Oh, and, thanks to the people that reviewed, by the way! 


	4. Kneazles

Hah! Sorry for the very late update but it took me a while to write this one, short as it is, because I went on vacation. Enjoy!

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Needles. Needles are sharp, pointy, and they make a habit of drawing blood. They always seem repugnantly fascinated in one's thumb or index finger, always on the look out for ways to sneak up on their handler and slowly dig their way through the soft flesh of an unsuspecting finger.

It was here, on a day so beautiful with glowing nature, that Sirius Black realized that his needle was in love with his fingers, for this was the billionth time it had struck.

"OUCH!" Sirius hissed, flinching his index finger away from the small, metal menace. Studying the small cut it had made, Sirius watched the blood seep out and run down his finger in a slow, lucid motion. He wasn't paying any attention to the pacing boy in front of him who was howling on and on as if he were wounded, wounded _and_ angry.

"IDIOT! FOOL! HOW COULD YOU? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT!" James Potter rambled on, as he had been doing so for the last fifteen minutes, tearing at his hair and moaning at the ceiling of The Hovel.

It had been a week since their big adventure and James had just been "released" from his mother's protective hold. Even now she didn't believe he was fully well and rested and it had taken his father and he to completely reassure her that he was just going to The Hovel and would be back by four that evening.

Shaking his hand and wiping the blood on his already stained pants, Sirius looked up from his work and sighed, "Oh, c'mon, James. I _wasn't_ caught. So what does it matter now?"

James hadn't taken kindly to Sirius's telling of taking the Demiguise Hair to fix the messy haired boy's invisibility cloak. And that's when he'd begun his rant on how stupid Sirius had been. Whilst Sirius had to agree, he didn't think James had to rant on it for that long.

"It matters more than ANYTHING." James moaned but had stopped his tyrant and was now flopped onto the soft gold colored chair. Something soft and heavy landed on James's lap and as he looked down from rubbing his eyelids he came upon the face of a black and ginger cat.

"Hey, Danu." James smiled, gently rubbing his fingers through her thick fur and she purred reassuringly.

The cat that had been quite the help to Sirius during his adventure at Brookes and Creak had chosen to stay with Sirius to keep him company. And during that time, Sirius found out two things. One was that she was female, and the other was that she was a PREGNANT female. Danu was a Kneazle, as Sirius had come to the conclusion, for she was _way_ to intelligent to be a normal cat.

Sirius had named her "Danu," after an Irish Goddess. It seemed the heir to the Black's Family Fortune had a thing for naming pets, for his family was filled with odd names.

"You still didn't have to go and get it." Sirius ground his teeth, "Well, I did. In payment for letting me stay here." James was startled, and slightly hurt, at Sirius's curt and very harsh answer. "Oh." James said softly, looking back down at Danu. She watched him remorsefully, butting her head and against his hand and mewing softly. James looked up before whispering, "Thanks for saving me."

It was now Sirius's turn to be startled. He blinked and turned toward the messy haired boy before shyly looking back down at the half torn cloak. "No problem."

They sat in an awkward silence for a while, not looking at each other and equally berating themselves.

"Sirius?" James began hesitantly, trying to ease out the tension clouding the room with the start of a conversation.

Sirius's head shot up and he peered at the boy gratefully, not wanting to be the one to speak first.

"Um…the day I woke up, the day you first got here, my Mum and Dad were looking at the newspaper and you were on the front page of it." James began slowly, watching the black haired boy in front of him carefully, "are you really the heir to the Black Family Fortune?" Sirius smiled down at the torn invisibility cloak grimly, "I was, was I?" He chuckled, "I suppose you would like me out of the tree house now, eh? Don't want a future dark wizard mucking up your place, eh?"

James was startled at this; he'd never been studied so thoroughly in his life. One thing was certain though, Sirius must never had a real friend.

"N-No! Of course not! Look, I don't care if you're Merlin, you saved my life and I really appreciate it. We're friends, okay?" James breathed out, flinching and not looking Sirius in the eye as he said it. He finally found the courage to look up and caught Sirius's expression, mistaking it for anger. "I-I'm sorry. I-I'll be going." The boy stammered out and turned to leave but Sirius caught his arm.

"No. You can stay." James whipped his head around in surprise and Sirius looked back, face shining with hesitant gratitude.

Friends they were, friends they'd always be.

--

"What do you mean 'it's time'? I thought she was only a month along!"

"That's what I thought but I guess I was wrong, eh? Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Let's just sit and watch."

"You're terrible."

"Am not, just want some experience, is all."

"Still think you're terrible."

"It wounds the heart."

"As Black as it is."

"Augh. That was TERRIBLE James. At least learn better puns."

"Says your Sirius joke."

"Hey, that one never gets old!"

"And I'll be hearing it until _I'm_ old and wrinkled."

"Hah. If you live that long."

"Shut up, Sirius."

"Oh, fine."

The yowling of Danu startled the boys out of their mock fight and they turned their heads to see two kittens, both nuzzling against the black and ginger cat's bloated stomach.

"She had two of 'em already?" James said, startled.

"Well, if you hadn't argued about it, we would have seen it."

James sighed and rolled his eyes, no use really.

"Should we name them yet?" James asked, desperately trying to get a full glimpse of the two.

"Nah, let's wait 'till she's done."

James and Sirius were kneeling down on the hardwood floor of The Hovel's kitchen, peering through the medium-sized crack in the bottom cabinet door. Danu must have crawled in there last night for she had comforted herself.

It had only been two days and the boys were already best of friends, spending as much time as they could with one another. Both of them found that they were very different but shared many in common, like Quidditch for instance, though Sirius was not as devoted to it as James was.

The strangled mew signaled the birth of another kitten and a sudden loud hiss was heard from the cabinet following it. Sirius laughed, "Not very happy to be born, that one." James grinned, flopping back into a sitting position and situating himself. "How many more d'you think she'll have?" "Not many, I hope." Sirius answered, placing his thumb and index finger beneath his chin thoughtfully.

She'd already had three, there couldn't be that many more to come, could there? Sirius had read somewhere that Kneazles could have up to eight in a litter but THAT was way too many. They wouldn't be able to take care of all of them.

"One more kitten, Sirius!" James cried, startling Sirius out of his thoughts, "not many more to go, I hope!" Sirius nodded, deciding to finally sit back as James had done. He closed his eyes and breathed in, smiling to himself.

He'd never had a Kneazle before, but he'd always wanted one. Cats weren't his favorite animals but he'd always liked Kneazles for some reason or another, he supposed it was because they were more intelligent than just cats in themselves. He couldn't wait to name them.

--

An hour or two later, both James and Sirius found themselves still sitting on the kitchen floor but this time they were peering at five newly born kittens.

Sirius cocked his head, studying each kitten closely whilst James stroked the new mother's fur.

"Alright! I've got it!" Sirius said suddenly, startling James.

"This one'll be Aeolus," the black haired boy began, jabbing a finger at the oldest one. It was the color of sand, speckled with large black spots.

"This one's Akka," this time he pointed to a ginger colored one with dark orange melding into the ginger.

"And…" "Wait, let me name one!" James interrupted, frowning slightly. "Okay, okay. Go ahead." Sirius grumbled, he'd been on a roll too.

"Um…uh…you're name will be…uh…Shatterbox!" James grinned down at the middle one, its fur purely black.

"Okay, there, there's your special one. Now, as I was saying. This one's Janus," Sirius began again, pointing to a fluffy grey one flecked with ginger.

"And this last one'll be…Elli!" Sirius Black finished with a nod, motioning toward the runt of the litter. It was fluffy as its older brother and was a soft ginger color, softly striped with orange.

"Now that we've got the naming done, what do we do now? Even if it's only five, that's a lot of kittens. We can't take care of 'em all." James said, softly brushing each kitten's head.

"Well…we could…" Sirius began, trying to come up with ways they could use to support the newly born kittens. A meow made both boys look down and Danu nudged her head against James's hand.

"Oh, so you'll handle it, will you?" Sirius asked, grinning as he realized what she was trying to say. The cat nodded and curled around her kittens, slowly dropping back into sleep.

Both boys stood up and tiptoed out the door as quietly as possible, wary to disturb the black and ginger cat from her just acquired slumber.

When they both had reached the living room again, the boys slumped onto the loveseat and sighed.

"She'll make a good mother, won't she?" James asked, folding his arms behind his head.

"'Course she will, never met a Kneazle who wasn't."

"Haven't met one, have you?"

"Nope, but that's not the point."

"Yeah, yeah…"

There was silence in The Hovel for a few minutes as Sirius watched the flames in the fireplace before him flicker and lick the stone surrounding it.

"James?" he whispered after a while, not looking up at his best friend. No answer came.

"James?" he tried again but still no answer. Sirius then changed tactics.

Leaning over, Sirius began to poke and prod James's left leg until the messy haired boy squirmed and groaned.

"What do you _want_, Sirius? I'm trying to sleep." James grumbled, rolling onto his stomach and burying his face into the pillow at his back.

"Your Mum's gonna kill you."

"Why's that?" James murmured, not really listening.

"'Tis about eleven and you were to be back at eight. Won't see you for a while, will I?"

James shot up, eyes wide and stumbled to the door. "Oh crud, you're right Sirius!"

"Of course I am!"

"I am SO dead. Bye, Sirius, see you in a week!" James called his farewell before running out the door and slamming it shut in his hurry.

Sirius stared at the door for a little while afterward before laying back down and situating himself for a good night's rest.

It would be alright, he could take care of himself. He did have the kittens for company, after all. He wouldn't get lonely.

And with that thought, Sirius Black drifted into dreamland without a second thought.

* * *

There, alright. 'Tis done. You won't be getting another one too soon because I'm working really hard on another fic for the Neopian Times on Neopets. I'm trying my hardest and putting all my time and effort into it. But by the end of the week you should have another update! Can't promise this but I hope it's true!

Oh and thank you all yet again for the updates. Just revamped the chapter since the mistakes were bugging me.


	5. Onto Hallows Eve

-Slides in ever so discreetly- Err, hi? I know I said I would have the next chapter up by the weekend but y'know, that never happened and I feel terrible for how very _short_ this chapter is. I think it was because I wanted to end it here but yeah…

I hope you like the chapter anyway.

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I guess one would feel a fool to be found on all fours, skulking around as if in search for prey, especially when one is in a perfectly sophisticated living room, occupied by a somewhat less willing-to-romp-around-unsophisticatedly boy. And then again, one probably would be taken a fool by the now more slender black and ginger cat sitting upon the back of the loveseat. But maybe less of a fool to the playfulness of one's many balls of fluff that scurry across the floor, searching for clever hiding places in which they can hurriedly squeeze into. Sirius Black who so happens to be on all fours and scouring the area for the many kittens who refuse to do anything but play and sleep, plays this certain fool. Sirius finds he shares something similar in this outlook the kittens have for he too chooses to do no more than play and sleep, but it's a wondering if one should be proud of this.

"Hey, Sirius, I think I saw one in the loveseat." James Potter suggests helpfully from his place by the fireplace, watching the Black almost smugly as he crosses his arms across his chest. A small growth spurt had come upon the messy haired boy and he was now an inch taller than Sirius, immaturely boosting his ego somewhat.

"Thanks." Sirius hissed with a nod as he rounded upon the unsuspecting red colored loveseat. With an almost predatory yelp, Sirius dove at the couch and several mews were heard. Grinning at the five, fluffy little heads that poked out of every little crack that could be found in a couch, Sirius said, "Well, I'd have to say that you need to find better hiding places. Not all five of you can hide here at once, y'know."

Protesting meows were heard and their mother almost seemed to chuckle as she glided over, nuzzling each and every one of them out of their hiding places. Sirius stood up and dusted himself off, turning to grin at his best friend whilst the other boy grinned knowingly back.

Autumn leaves fluttered by the windows and Sirius hurried over, flinging it open and grabbing at one. James followed, predicting this for Sirius had been doing this every spare second he got, and yanked the would-be dog Animagus back into the room, sighing at his best friend's overenthusiastic nature.

Sirius, ignoring James's disapproving gaze, grinned and threw his fist into the air in triumph, clutching tightly the now most likely squashed and crumpled leaf. "Got one! Finally!" Sirius cried, spinning around the room until he was adjacent to one of the loveseats and promptly collapsed on it.

The five other kittens soon joined Sirius, a few still mewing loudly, as they popped onto his lap. "Well, hello there, again. Come to visit, have we? How's it feel to be almost two months old and troublemakers that would make a poltergeist proud?"

A month, it was true. A month, nearly two, had gone by since the kittens' births and now they were ending the month of October and inching into November. And so the end of October spoke simply: Hallows Eve. And Halloween was what James was going to try and sneak into the conversation ever so discreetly.

James cleared his throat and Sirius looked up from his playing with Janus who always wanted to play no matter what, "So, ah, Halloween's coming up."

"Yeah…" Sirius trailed off, right eye twitching suspiciously.

"So…uh…would it be okay if we, ah, went Trick-or-Treating together?"

At first, Sirius seemed to think this over, making James even more nervous.

"Of course! I'll just need to cover up real well or someone will notice me." Sirius agreed with a grin and James sighed in relief.

"So…shall we?"

--

Sirius had never gone Trick-or-Treating before. He'd never been allowed just in case he escaped into the crowd, keeping the young Black heir under lock and key constantly. So, when Sirius first put on his ghost costume, he thought he was going to die.

"AUGH! I CAN'T SEE!" Sirius's muffled cry was ignored as James walked into the room, clad in his Merlin costume. "That's why we poke _holes_ so you can see." James explained with a exasperated sigh, clopping, for he wore high heeled boots, over to help.

Taking out a pair of scissors that had magically appeared into James's hand, he slowly began twisting the cloth into a circular shape.

"Being a ghost is so over-rated, James." Sirius grumbled as he was allowed to see from his left eye.

"Oh shut up, Sirius, it was the only thing I could get at such short notice. You made me pull a whopper of a lie when I said one of my friends needed a costume. She _knows_ I don't have many friends." The messy haired boy had started on the other eye and Sirius slightly flinched, "Watch the eye, I only have two of those y'know."

"Yeah, yeah…" After a minute more of fidgety silence, on Sirius's part anyway, James stepped back and observed his work with satisfaction.

The eyes were slightly crooked and the mouth was few inches from Sirius's own, making it almost impossible to see the boy's features.

"You're a natural, James." Sirius sounded ever so grumpy but James was used to these spouts. The boy didn't really mean to be grumpy; these changes in moods came and went, kinda like a dog in its own right.

"MEW!" The shrill, loud screech startled the boys and they whirled around, or meant to anyway. The ghost outfit was a bit long for Sirius so it was natural that his foot was to snag when one moves too quickly.

"GAH!" Sirius cried as he fell to the ground, James watching the whole way. "Brilliant," was the boy's only comment and Sirius's grumbles were heard.

"Now, who was the one that dared to floor me?" Sirius boomed, his voice mimicking that of a wavering ghost's. A small ball of soft ginger, Elli to be exact, rolled out and popped its head into view and Sirius was nearly floored again.

Upon its head was a small, miniature witch's hat and it seemed that the other kittens were wearing them too.

Danu hopped to the hardwood floor, swishing her tail, and headed over to Sirius and the boy found her wearing the same though big enough to fit her head. She also wore a black cloak and she seemed to almost smile smugly at him, if a cat could smile.

"What-are-what-?" Sirius stuttered out, overwhelmed by the horrifyingly cuteness that the little hats brought out on the kittens.

"My idea." James admitted with a raise of his hand and a sheepish grin.

"Yours-?" Sirius choked out, his eyes almost poking out his sockets.

"Well, it's Halloween, isn't it? So I thought I'd dress 'em up too. Danu didn't complain." The aforementioned cat purred and settled herself into the black haired boy's lap, ignoring his bewildered expression.

"But-It's-It's-"

"It's adorable, isn't it?"

"You disgust me, James Potter."

"I'm sorry but nothing to be done about it."

Sirius grumbled, glaring at Danu reproachfully but she didn't even glance at him, just continued to watch the kittens play with their hats.

"Well, I think it's time for us to head out!" James stated, checking his gold watch.

Sirius nodded, shoving off the once-pregnant cat from his lap and standing up. "Great, I've got cat hair on me now."

"Well, that's too bad. Compensate, you're the Cat Hair Ghost or something."

"Hah, hah, _that's_ original, James."

"I know, now _come on_."

And with a wave to Danu and her kittens, the two best friends hurried out, with Sirius constantly tripping over his ghost costume and nearly flying off the side of the tree house, and into a night filled with mock horror, candy, and monsters. A normal Hallows Eve if any, but then again, for poor Sirius and James, normal is not on the menu for tonight.

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There. Hah, hah. I am an idiot, I know. I'm sorry if this is taking so long but plot bunnies are evil and other fics I want to write bug meh and eh…

But don't worry; this story shalt be finished!

Sayonara for now! -waves-


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